At the beginning of 2015 I worked at a local library. Several of my coworkers signed up to do the Goodreads.com year long reading challenge and they convinced me to to do it too. I wanted to stretch myself so I set my goal at 100 books. I then set the parameter that to count for the challenge the books needed to be over 100 actual reading pages (so no picture books, though I certainly read plenty of those too.) At 11:15 pm on New Year's Eve I finished my last book. Here is a quick review of all the books I read in 2015.
Audio Books: I really want my daughter to have a love of reading. I also think that listening to someone other than me read to her is a good thing. Audio books have introduced her to new words and concepts that we don't come across in the usual picture books we get from the library. Plus, it's a great way to inspire her imagination when she is "trapped" in the car.
This year we listened to a LOT of audio books, mainly of two series American Girl and Magic Tree House Stories. The American Girl stories are a bit longer and meatier so I counted each of them an individual book. However, The Magic Tree House series is a bit less strenuous, so I counted every four Magic Tree House stories as one book read*. The last books in the section are books I listened to to help me go to sleep at night.
*Some may think that audio books should count toward a reading goal, but (as explain above) I feel there are many benefits to listening to books and I felt that my time ought to count for something so for this accounting audio books totally count.
Audio Books Total: 45
Magic Tree House Books 1-35 - 9 books
American Girl Stories -
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
Harry Potter And the Order of the Phoenix
Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince
Legend by Marie Lu
Prodigy by Marie Lu
Champion by Marie Lu
Cookbooks: I am a cookbook collector and fanatic. The idea of being able to mix ingredients together and make something delicious for my family intrigues me. I love the science behind cooking and finding out what works well together. When I sit down to look at a cookbook I actually read it - it meaning the introduction, the side bars, the notes the author puts at the beginning of each recipe. You name it, I read it.
Cookbook Total: 7
New York A La Cart Siobhan Wallace
Brownies to Die For Bev Shaffer
Ten Dollar Dinners Melissa D'Arabian
Bobby Flay's Burgers, Fries, and Shakes
Herbs and Spices - DK publishing
400 Calories and Under with Our Best Bites
Brunch at Bobby's
Graphic Novels: I did a short graphic novel stint at the beginning of the year. I wanted to see if I liked graphic novels and overall I would have to give them a positive review. I particularly enjoyed the two Jane Austin adaptations. The Marvel Fairy tales was the only one I was really disappointed with.
Graphic Novels Total: 4
Pride and Prejudice Jane Austin/Nancy Butler
Sense and Sensibility Jane Austin/Nancy Butler
Marvel Fairy Tales
Page by Paige Laura Lee Gulledge
Books I Didn't Or Almost Didn't Finish: There were several books that I started this year that I either chose not to finish or really had to push myself to finish. Some of this was due to inappropriate language, content/subject matter, the general "feeling" of the book. I put down at least one or two of them because the writing was just terrible. With so many books in the world I really don't feel the need to read books that are inappropriate, vulgar, or just plain bad.
Reject Pile Total: 9
Room Emma Donoghue
Daughter of Smoke and Bone Laini Taylor
Disney After Dark Ridley Pearson
An Ember in the Ashes Sabaa Tahir
Endgame: The Calling James Frey
The Paper Magician Charle Holmberg
The Glass Magician Charlie Holmberg
Master Magician Charlie Holmberg
The Little Prince Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
Easy Reading Series: In the past I have enjoyed the short book 39 Clues series. In hope that they would be just as good I read the Infinity Ring and started the Spirit Animal series. Neither have lived up to the expectations of the original 39 Clues series. The spinoff 39 clues series were not as good as the original either.
Easy Reading Series Total: 11
39 Clues Doublecross Series Mission Titanic
Infinity Ring 1-7
Spirit Animals 1 and 2, and Stories of the Great Beasts
The Good Stuff aka Everything else: This is the smorgasbord of all the other stuff I've read and enjoyed. My reviews can be found in the other posts on this webpage.
Total: 24
Camp Granny
Truths Most Worth Knowing Boyd K. Packer
Magnus Chase: The Sword of Summer Rick Riordan
Dealing with Dragons Patricia Wrede
The Unwanteds Lisa McMann
Unwanteds: Island of Silence Lisa McMann
Quidditch Through The Ages Kennilworthy Whisp (J.K. Rawling)
The Work and the Glory 1-3 Gerald Lund
Grace: An American Girl Books 1-3
Off the Page Judi Picoult and Samantha Van Leer
Counting by Sevens Holly Goldbery Sloan
The Island of Dr. Libris Chris Gaberstein
Cinder Marissa Mayer
House of Hades Rick Riordan
Matched Series 1-3 - Ally Condie
A Snicker of Magic Natalie Lloyd
A Grimm Legacy Polly Shuleman
I Work At A Public Library Gina Sheridan
Audio Books: I really want my daughter to have a love of reading. I also think that listening to someone other than me read to her is a good thing. Audio books have introduced her to new words and concepts that we don't come across in the usual picture books we get from the library. Plus, it's a great way to inspire her imagination when she is "trapped" in the car.
This year we listened to a LOT of audio books, mainly of two series American Girl and Magic Tree House Stories. The American Girl stories are a bit longer and meatier so I counted each of them an individual book. However, The Magic Tree House series is a bit less strenuous, so I counted every four Magic Tree House stories as one book read*. The last books in the section are books I listened to to help me go to sleep at night.
*Some may think that audio books should count toward a reading goal, but (as explain above) I feel there are many benefits to listening to books and I felt that my time ought to count for something so for this accounting audio books totally count.
Audio Books Total: 45
Magic Tree House Books 1-35 - 9 books
American Girl Stories -
- Josefina Stories - 6 (my favorite)
- Kierstin Stories - 6
- Felicity Stories - 6 (my second favorite)
- Samantha Stories 6
- Molly Stories - 5 (I really didn't like Molly, so we didn't finish the series)
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
Harry Potter And the Order of the Phoenix
Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince
Legend by Marie Lu
Prodigy by Marie Lu
Champion by Marie Lu
Cookbooks: I am a cookbook collector and fanatic. The idea of being able to mix ingredients together and make something delicious for my family intrigues me. I love the science behind cooking and finding out what works well together. When I sit down to look at a cookbook I actually read it - it meaning the introduction, the side bars, the notes the author puts at the beginning of each recipe. You name it, I read it.
Cookbook Total: 7
New York A La Cart Siobhan Wallace
Brownies to Die For Bev Shaffer
Ten Dollar Dinners Melissa D'Arabian
Bobby Flay's Burgers, Fries, and Shakes
Herbs and Spices - DK publishing
400 Calories and Under with Our Best Bites
Brunch at Bobby's
Graphic Novels: I did a short graphic novel stint at the beginning of the year. I wanted to see if I liked graphic novels and overall I would have to give them a positive review. I particularly enjoyed the two Jane Austin adaptations. The Marvel Fairy tales was the only one I was really disappointed with.
Graphic Novels Total: 4
Pride and Prejudice Jane Austin/Nancy Butler
Sense and Sensibility Jane Austin/Nancy Butler
Marvel Fairy Tales
Page by Paige Laura Lee Gulledge
Books I Didn't Or Almost Didn't Finish: There were several books that I started this year that I either chose not to finish or really had to push myself to finish. Some of this was due to inappropriate language, content/subject matter, the general "feeling" of the book. I put down at least one or two of them because the writing was just terrible. With so many books in the world I really don't feel the need to read books that are inappropriate, vulgar, or just plain bad.
Reject Pile Total: 9
Room Emma Donoghue
Daughter of Smoke and Bone Laini Taylor
Disney After Dark Ridley Pearson
An Ember in the Ashes Sabaa Tahir
Endgame: The Calling James Frey
The Paper Magician Charle Holmberg
The Glass Magician Charlie Holmberg
Master Magician Charlie Holmberg
The Little Prince Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
Easy Reading Series: In the past I have enjoyed the short book 39 Clues series. In hope that they would be just as good I read the Infinity Ring and started the Spirit Animal series. Neither have lived up to the expectations of the original 39 Clues series. The spinoff 39 clues series were not as good as the original either.
Easy Reading Series Total: 11
39 Clues Doublecross Series Mission Titanic
Infinity Ring 1-7
Spirit Animals 1 and 2, and Stories of the Great Beasts
The Good Stuff aka Everything else: This is the smorgasbord of all the other stuff I've read and enjoyed. My reviews can be found in the other posts on this webpage.
Total: 24
Camp Granny
Truths Most Worth Knowing Boyd K. Packer
Magnus Chase: The Sword of Summer Rick Riordan
Dealing with Dragons Patricia Wrede
The Unwanteds Lisa McMann
Unwanteds: Island of Silence Lisa McMann
Quidditch Through The Ages Kennilworthy Whisp (J.K. Rawling)
The Work and the Glory 1-3 Gerald Lund
Grace: An American Girl Books 1-3
Off the Page Judi Picoult and Samantha Van Leer
Counting by Sevens Holly Goldbery Sloan
The Island of Dr. Libris Chris Gaberstein
Cinder Marissa Mayer
House of Hades Rick Riordan
Matched Series 1-3 - Ally Condie
A Snicker of Magic Natalie Lloyd
A Grimm Legacy Polly Shuleman
I Work At A Public Library Gina Sheridan
Comments
Post a Comment